KALAMAZOO, MI (WKZO AM/FM) — A teen is injured after another shooting on Kalamazoo’s Northside, at the same time while Kalamazoo city commissioners were meeting virtually and discussing the increase in gun violence in the area.
During the meeting, Kalamazoo Vice Mayor Patrese Griffin said she heard the gunshots near her home Monday evening.
“While we’re on this meeting right they’re just shots going off in the back of me. My daughters had to run home, she was in, at La Crone [Park] when that happened,” Griffin explained.
The 17-year old victim in the Cobb Avenue shooting is reportedly in stable condition at a local hospital. No suspect information was released.
Griffin and Kalamazoo Mayor David Anderson denounced the eruption in violence that some have blamed on a running feud between rival groups on the city’s North and South sides.
“We have a gun crisis in Kalamazoo. I know cities across Michigan and the country are having similar issues; however, we cannot accept this in our community. Every resident has the right to expect no matter what neighborhood they call home it will be a safe place for them and their families,” Anderson said during the meeting.
KDPS Chief Karianne Thomas says as of Monday, 41 people have been shot so far this year and 8 have been murdered, which is an 81% increase since last year.
She adds that violence has been escalating this summer. “Just since June 1st, 23 have been shot and four people have died,” Chief Thomas explained.
Assistant Chief Dave Boysen says one reason may be the coronavirus pandemic. He explained that last year they were able to successfully reduce such shootings because they were able to deploy their Gun Violence Intervention team, which is a group of street wise citizens who work in the neighborhoods, but that was not the case this year.
“So we know that the strategy works we know what we need to do, it’s just we have to find creative ways in this current environment to make it work,” Boysen added.
Some of the other contributing factors to the increase in gun violence could be the closure of local courts, low bond amounts, and the decision to release suspects on bail due to the pandemic.
Just weeks after protesters were demanding that the Kalamazoo City Commission defund the Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety, there was an outpouring of support for the department during the public comment portion of the meeting Monday evening.
Dozens of residents chastised commissioners for even entertaining such ideas of defunding and called for more enforcement in these troubled times.
“I would even consider moving out of the city of Kalamazoo if that happens,” one caller said.
A number of speakers also spoke out against the recent spike in gun violence, especially on the city’s Northside. “People are just going around like it’s the wild wild west,” another resident stated.
The comments came after two commissioners once again proposed imposing new restrictions and accountability standards on the department’s ability to operate independently.
The full city commission meeting can be found here.
(John McNeill contributed to this report.)
